Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal's New Theory: Is Gravity The Real Reason We Age?

Gravity in itself is a wondrous phenomenon that makes many things possible on planet earth, however, it might play a part in one of the most inevitable processes human beings go through — ageing.

Deepinder Goyal, the CEO and Founder of Eternal Ltd. (Zomato, Blinkit, District, Hyperpure, Feeding India), has introduced a new breakthrough in the longevity field via 'Continue Research'. The Gravity Aging Hypothesis suggests that gravity’s lifelong pull on blood circulation in the brain may be a key reason why humans age.

According to a note shared by the company the hypothesis is centered around the blood flow which reaches our brain, also known as Cerebral Blood Flow (CBF).

"When we sit or stand, gravity pulls blood away from the brain, reducing CBF by up to 17% in upright posture. Over decades, this chronic underperfusion may weaken two key brain regions, the hypothalamus and brainstem, which regulate hormones, metabolism, inflammation, and autonomic function. Their decline could set off the cascade we call aging", the note stated.

It added that each year, CBF falls up to 0.7%. This amounts to 20–40% between ages 20 and 80. Why this is significant is because Low CBF has been linked to nearly double the risk of all-cause mortality.

The study delves into natural cues that have indicated support for the theory and cites examples of how long bats live and attributes their long life spans to them staying inverted for most of their life, allowing gravity to assist blood flow to the brain rather than oppose it.

Besides bats, many other lifespan outliers, like sloths and flamingos, also spend long periods in positions where their brains lie below their hearts.

The study also cites examples of inverted yoga postures and people with shorter height, stating that Yogis have linked the practice of inversion (head below heart) to a longer lifespan and that shorter people live longer than taller people.

According to the hypothesis, a key to elongating your life against the ravages of declining CBF is passive inversion methods, such as lying on commercial inversion tables, have been found to increase blood flow to the brain by 20.2%, an additional 7%, on top of active inversion.

Active inversions in Yoga lead to 13.3% increase in blood flow to the brain compared to the upright position while something as simple and accessible as legs-up-the-wall pose, can help improve blood flow to the brain by ~2% more than active inversions practiced in yoga.

Continue Research's study stated, daily passive inversions for at least 10 minutes using commercial inversion tables over a period of 6 weeks, lead to a 7% increase in daily average brain flow in humans.

"For context, a 7% increase in brain flow is equivalent to approximately 10 years of younger age, when calculated based on the drop in brain flow per year of aging."

The studies were conducted by Continue Research using a newly invented experimental proxy device that measures cerebral blood flow continuously.